POOLE businessman Mark Constantine has offered a £5,000 reward after an extremely rare wild bird of prey, named after his wife, went missing.

The founder of Poole-based ethical cosmetic chain Lush, paid for a satellite tag on a migratory Montagu’s Harrier and the bird was named after his wife, Mo.

However ornithologists fear for the bird after the tag stopped transmitting in August, near Great Bircham in Norfolk. It was one of only seven breeding pairs in England and is legally protected.

No body or feathers have been found, however it is feared it could have been illegally persecuted or the victim of a predator.

Now the couple are offering a reward for any information on the missing bird, leading to a conviction.

Their offer comes as Lush customers around the country signed 20,000 postcards to the Queen asking for her help to stop the illegal shooting of the scarce Hen Harrier on driven grouse moors.

“I can’t believe that just as we were gathering the last of the postcards from our recent campaign to send to Her Majesty, we get the news that another rare bird of prey, a Montagu’s Harrier, has gone missing near Great Bircham in Norfolk... it never ends,” said Paul Morton from Lush.

“Luckily the bird was satellite tagged as part of a larger research project so the RSPB know exactly where the bird was right up until the last few seconds.

“Birds of prey are some of the most beautiful of any bird in the world, I can’t understand what thrill people get from shooting them.”

Lush will be handing the 20,000 signatures to Buckingham Palace in the next couple of weeks, hoping the Royal Family will help put an end to the slaughter of birds of prey.